Pope expels two Chilean bishops from the priesthood over sex abuse / Cruxnow.com

To this day, many observers point to Sodano, who would become the Vatican’s Secretary of State during the final years of John Paul’s papacy, as the architect of the crisis that is rocking the Chilean Church. To date, seven bishops had their resignations accepted by the pope in recent months after the episcopacy resigned en masse. (Cruxnow.com)

“In an extremely unusual, if not unprecedented, move, Pope Francis on Saturday (Oct. 13) imposed what’s tantamount to the Church’s version of capital punishment on two retired Chilean bishops accused of sexual abuse of minors, expelling them from the priesthood.

“In the case of Archbishop Francisco Cox, it’s a day some of his earliest victims have been awaiting for more than 40 years.

“The pope also removed from the clerical state the bishop emeritus of Iquique, Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez, who retired from his position in 2012 at the age of 47.”